The following is a some general information about Ukraine,
including items on the country's area, geography and population.
This item draws extensively on material from publications from the United
Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and Jane's publications.
Please report any errors of commission and omission which you may
notice to Max Pyziur at admin@brama.com.
Updated 8/18/95

AREA

Area

Square Kilometers

603,700

Square Miles

233,090

Land Use

cropland

56%

permanent pasture

14%

other (mostly urban)

30%

Coastline (miles)

1,729

Land Borders (miles)

2,832

POPULATION

Population Distribution: urban (1991)

68.0%

Population Growth Rate: per year (1992)

0.2%

Census Results

1/17/79

49,754,642

1/12/89

Males

23,959,000

Females

27,745,000

Total

51,704,000

Official Estimate at 1/1

1991

51,944,000

1992

52,057,000

Density (per sq km)

86.2

(per sq mi)

223.0

POPULATION BY ETHNIC GROUP

(permanent inhabitants, census of 1/12/89)

('000)

%

Ukrainian

37,419.1

72.7

Russian

11,355.6

22.1

Jewish

486.3

0.9

Belarussian

440.0

0.9

Moldovan

324.5

0.6

Bulgarian

233.8

0.5

Polish

219.2

0.4

Hungarian

163.1

0.3

Romanian

134.8

0.3

Greek

98.6

0.2

Tatar

86.9

0.2

Roma (Gypsy)

47.9

0.1

Crimean Tatar

46.8

0.1

Armenian

38.6

0.1

Others

356.8

0.7

Total

51,452.0

100.0

POPULATION BY ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS (OBLASTS)

With the exception of Crimea and Transcarpathia, the names of
regions are given in transliterated Ukrainian, with the Russian version
in parentheses where it differs. The figures for Kyiv are combined
for both the metropolitan area as well as the Kyiv region, although
they are administered separately.

Regions

Area ('000) Sq km

Population ('000) 1/1/91

Density (per sq km)

Cherkasy (Cherkassy)

20.9

1,530.9

73.2

Chernihiv (Chernigov)

31.9

938.6

44.1

Chernivtsi (Chernovtsy)

8.1

1,405.8

115.6

Dnipropetrovsk (Dnepropetrovsk)

31.9

3,908.7

122.5

Donetsk

26.5

5,346.7

201.8

Ivano-Frankivsk (Ivano Frankovsk)

13.9

1,442.9

103.8

Kharkiv (Kharkov)

31.4

3,194.8

101.7

Kherson

28.5

1,258.7

44.2

Khmelnytskyi (Khmelnitsky)

20.6

1,520.6

73.8

Kyiv (Kiev)

28.9

4,589.8

158.8

Kirovohrad (Kirovograd)

24.6

1,245.3

50.6

Luhansk (Lugansk)

29.7

2,871.1

107.5

Lviv (Lvov)

21.8

2,764.4

126.8

Mikolaiv (Nikolayev)

24.6

1,342.4

54.6

Odesa (Odessa)

33.3

2,635.3

79.1

Poltava

28.8

1,756.9

61.0

Rivne (Rovno)

20.1

1,176.8

58.5

Sumy

23.8

1,430.2

60.1

Ternopil (Ternopol)

13.8

1,175.1

85.2

Transcarpathia

12.8

1,265.9

98.9

Vinnytsia (Vinnitsa)

26.5

1,914.4

72.2

Volyn (Volin)

20.2

1,069.0

52.9

Zaporizhzhia (Zaporozhye)

27.2

2,099.6

77.2

Zhytomyr (Zhitomir)

29.9

1,510.7

50.5

Republic of Crimea

27.0

2,549.8

94.4

Total

603.7

51,944.4

86.0

POPULATION BY PRINCIPAL TOWNS

Where possible, the names of towns are given in transliterated
Ukrainian, with the Russian version in parentheses where it
differs. Mariupol was known as Zhdanov from 1948 to 1989.
Luhansk was known as Voroshilovgrad from 1935 to 1958 and from 1970
to 1989. (estimated population at 1/1/90)

Kyiv (Kiev, capital)

2,616,000

Kharkiv (Kharkov)

1,618,000

Dnipropetrovsk (Dnepropetrovsk)

1,187,000

Donetsk

1,117,000

Odesa (Odessa)

1,106,000

Zaporizhzhia (Zaporozhye)

891,000

Lviv (Lvov)

798,000

Kryvyvi Rih (Krivoi Rog)

717,000

Mariupol

520,000

Mikolaiv (Nikolayev)

508,000

Luhansk (Lugansk)

501,000

Makayevka

427,000

Vinnytsia (Vinnitsa)

379,000

Kherson

361,000

Sevastopol

361,000

Simferopol

349,000

Gorlovka

338,000

Poltava

317,000

Chernihiv (Chernigov)

301,000

Cherkasy (Cherkassy)

297,000

Sumy

296,000

Zhytomyr (Zhitomir)

296,000

Dniprodzerzhynsk (Dneprodzerzhinsk)

284,000

Kirovohrad (Kirovograd)

274,000

Chernivtsi (Chernovtsy)

257,000

Khemelnytskyi (Khmelnitsky)

241,000

Kremenchug

238,000

Rivne (Rovno)

233,000

Ivano-Frankivsk (Ivano-Frankovsk)

220,000

Ternopil (Ternopol)

212,000

Lutsk

204,000

GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, TIME, LANGUAGE AND FLAG

Ukraine is situated in east-central Europe. It
is bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania
and Moldova to the west, by Belarus to the north
and by the Russian Federation to the north-east
and east. To the south lie the Black Sea and
the Sea of Azov. The capital is Kyiv.

The climate in Ukraine is temperate, with the
Black Sea coastal region experiencing milder
winters. In Kyiv, temperatures range from about
21 degrees F in January to about 69 degrees F in
July. Annual precipitation averages 24.2 inches/615
millimeters in Kyiv. Droughts are not infrequent in
southern areas.

The time in Kyiv is 7 hours later than US Eastern
Standard, 2 hours later than Greenwich Mean. As of April 1997 Ukraine
covers one time zone.

The official state language is Ukrainian, an Eastern
Slavonic language written in Cyrillic script. Russian,
Romanian, Polish and Hungarian are also spoken.

The national flag (proportions 3 by 2) has two equal
stripes, of blue over yellow.